“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. is a powerful text that many credit as the direct inspiration for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the letter, King outlines the careful decision-making that went into timing his …
In social studies, I’m preparing a unit on The Industrial Revolution–the period of history in which massive changes to the manufacturing process altered the course of human history. The Abraham Lincoln conversation about self-determination would be a great way to …
During a unit on the Civil Rights era, I would introduce the Sit-In Movement, a means of peaceful protest in which people would sit quietly in “whites-only” establishments in opposition of racial segregation. Abraham Lincoln’s quote about self-determination would fit …
The March from Selma to Montgomery was one of the seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, due in large part to its successful use of civil disobedience as a form of protest. The Henry David Thoreau …
When students are learning about early exploration and the arrival of Europeans in North America, I like to use the fascinating survival story of Spanish Explorer Cabeza de Vaca to teach students about the struggle of arriving in a new …
During the first winter of the Jamestown settlement, many settlers died. Those who lived faced unbelievable difficulty and needed vast quantities of strength, skill, and mental fortitude to survive. I would introduce my unit on Jamestown with the quote and …
Obstacles don’t have to delay progress–as long as careful decision-making is present. This concept is evident in Ronald Reagan’s speech following the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, in which he outlines how America will not let this disaster derail its …
When teaching about the years leading up to the Civil War, I never leave out Harriet Tubman’s role in leading 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. The Toni Morrison conversation would work very nicely just before bringing up …
When teaching students about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the impact these explorers had on the future of Westward Expansion, I see a great opportunity to frame the expedition as a story of hard work and perseverance. Though they …
In my social studies curriculum, we examine how the culture of a population changes over time due to outside influences. The best example of this is The United States, often described as a “melting pot.” I first pose the following …
In a unit on Puritans and Colonial America, in which students learn that the Puritans fled from England to pursue religious freedom, I would use the Cheyenne proverb, “Our first teacher is our own heart.” I would introduce this conversation …
